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Domesday Book
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The Domesday Book was commissioned in December 1085 by William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066. It contains records for about 13,000 medieval settlements in the English counties south of the rivers Ribble and Tees (the border with Scotland at the time). The Domesday Book is a detailed record of the lands and their resources that belonged to the king. It also records the identity of the landholders and their tenants.
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Documentary Evidence
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Documentary evidence is another name for written records. The first written records in Britain date back to the Roman period. Documentary evidence can take many different forms, including maps, charters, letters and written accounts.
When archaeologists are researching a site, they often start by looking at documentary evidence to see if there are clues that will help them understand what they might find. Documentary evidence can help archaeologists understand sites that are discovered during an excavation, field survey or aerial survey.
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Medieval
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1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)
The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.
The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.
The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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LAYER *
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An archaeological unit of soil in a horizontal plane which may seal features or be cut through by other features.
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HOUSE *
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A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known.
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VILLAGE *
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A collection of dwelling-houses and other buildings, usually larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a simpler organisation and administration than the latter.
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SETTLEMENT *
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A small concentration of dwellings.
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BUILDING *
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A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known.
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RIDGE AND FURROW *
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A series of long, raised ridges separated by ditches used to prepare the ground for arable cultivation. This was a technique, characteristic of the medieval period.
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BOUNDARY *
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The limit to an area as defined on a map or by a marker of some form, eg. BOUNDARY WALL. Use specific type where known.
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MILL *
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A factory used for processing raw materials. Use more specific mill type where known. See also TEXTILE MILL, for more narrow terms.
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CHURCH *
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A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known.
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ABBEY *
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A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY.
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ROAD *
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A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles.
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FIELD *
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An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock.
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HIDE *
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A shelter, sometimes camouflaged, for the observation of birds and animals at close quarters.
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HOUSE PLATFORM *
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An area of ground on which a house is built. A platform is often the sole surviving evidence for a house.
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RAILWAY *
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A line or track consisting of iron or steel rails, on which passenger carriages or goods wagons are moved, usually by a locomotive engine.
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TOWN *
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An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government.
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* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)
